About $1.6 million worth of help for the homeless is on its way to Napa County as part of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Intended to connect homeless and at-risk individuals and families with housing and other services, the funds are a fraction of a recent $42.7 million allocation of so-called Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program awarded to 31 California local governments and organizations, according to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office.

The award brings California’s tally of Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program funds to a total of $189.1 million.

The Napa County funds are slated to go to residents making 50 percent or less of the area median income for individuals and families, Jim Featherstone, assistant director at Napa County Health and Human Services, said.

Napa County’s portion of the funds, he said, are not meant for tackling problems caused by the mortgage crisis, but are instead intended largely for low-income renters in danger of losing their homes because of job losses. The idea is to prevent homelessness before it happens, in addition to helping people transition out of local homeless shelters, he said.

About 60 percent of the federal money must be spent within the first year and local services are expected to launch in October, Featherstone said.

“The feeling is if they get this help pretty rapidly ... then they could be able to get the kind of employment they need to stabilize and keep their families together,” he said.

The program will provide short- and medium-term rental assistance, money for security and utility deposits and payments, help with moving costs like truck rentals and storage fees, Featherstone said. It may also be used to help qualified locals repair their credit, gain legal assistance and seek landlord-tenant counseling. In spite of Napa County’s wealthy image, the funds are desperately needed, he added.

“I think in general because of the image of our county ... it’s really difficult for us at times to apply for these types of funding because people assume that everyone here has everything they need,” he said. “We’re thrilled to be able to offer this relief for the families out there that are struggling.”

Health and Human Services will work with local agencies including Catholic Charities, Community Action Napa Valley, Legal Aid of Napa Valley and Fair Housing Napa Valley. The Napa County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve pending contracts with these agencies.

Charlene Horton, program director of the Napa Valley Shelter Project — a program of Community Action of Napa Valley — said it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how many homeless live in Napa County. However, Horton said her agency is seeing “three to four times as many people as usual” seeking rent assistance in recent months.

In the past year, she said, local homeless shelters have seen about a 10 percent increase in the number of families admitted. For single adults, the numbers are down about 5 percent, she said.

Although Horton credits a recent countywide effort to reduce homelessness with keeping these numbers relatively flat, the economy seems to be counteracting some of these efforts. Horton has high hopes that the incoming funds will make a difference for needy families and individuals.

“We’re seeing more working families. ... If we can keep somebody in their housing, it’s a heck of a lot smarter and it helps them (by saving) their credit. Once they become homeless ... it becomes almost impossible to house them. Very few landlords are willing to take that risk,” she said.